Kids' TV deal

Published on July 30, 1996.

President Clinton Monday morning used a children's TV summit to unveil a proposed compromise between broadcasters and consumer groups. The package would require all TV stations to include three hours a week of regularly scheduled children's educational programming as a condition of license renewal..

With frequent references to advertisers needing to support children's programming, the president, Hillary Clinton and both Vice President Gore and his wife, Tipper, quizzed advertising, network executives, consumer groups, psychologists and even Bill Cosby on ways to improve children's programming..

Mr. Clinton also accepted an offer from Jack Myers, chairman-CEO of Television Production Partners to convene a meeting of advertisers to discuss support of children's programming. Television Production Partners is supported by a consortium of major advertisers, including General Motors and McDonald's..

Under the agreement, which still must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, broadcasters would have to air three hours of regularly scheduled educational programming between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. each week, identify the programming both during broadcasts and in guides that would lay out which specific educational needs the programming met. The deal gives some flexibility to TV stations in that those who don't meet the guidelines can try to show extra programming and public service announcements aired one week balanced a lack in another week.